Monday, February 11, 2008

Boulangerie

I had some thoughts recently: I am in France for some time already, but do not mention "Bounlagerie" at all. Like I wasn't living in France :) Cause Boulangeries play crucial role in French daily life. Despite the fact that most people are used to visiting supermarkets, French could not survive without Boulangerie. Supermarkets in France, like in most of European countries, are open from 8-9h until 19:30-22:00h. And of course, they do not work on Sundays, only some of them and until 12:00. People get used to this timetable, however, Boulangeries work despite this timetable every day, from 7:00h, sometimes even 6:30, until 19:00 or even 21:00, which usually depends on the place of Boulangerie. I bet in Nice you could find some working up to 22:00 :)

So what's so special about Boulangerie? Do supermarkets sell no bread?! Of course not! They do sell, they do sell "Patisserie" also, but at this point don't forget what gourmands French people are. The quality for them is extremely important.
An example of typical Boulangerie

It is also common to see Boulangerie-Patisserie synergy, for example:

An example of Boulangerie-Patisserie

The reason for me to remember such an important part of French lifestyle was that I had my first visitors, who, of course, wanted to spend their free days as cool as possible in French Riviera.

  • Monaco, at day and at night
  • Apple cider with 2% of alcohol, substitutes lemonade
  • Discovering that even white wine can be very sweet
  • Crêpes - thin pancakes
  • Boulangerie with it's desserts
And I believe it was longer for the newcomers. However, having a piece of flan with a cup of café-crème in the early morning makes me feel the environment I live in much more better.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

first visitors? yay! (: kaip fainai tau. o siaip tos tavo bulkunzherijos man primine kroatija - ten ant kiekvieno kampo buvo po kepyklele jega! nepalyginsi su tuo ka supermarketai platina (: svedijoj irgi yra kazkokia vietine kavine/kepykla bet kazkaip nieko ypatingo ir brangu

Liolik said...

Aha, yra tu kepykleliu :) Vilniuj tai IKI panasius asortimentas budavo, bet palyginus pigiai. Nors kokybe cia Fr yra tokia Yamy! Tirpsta burnoj... bet kainos tai uzkeltos :)

Anonymous said...

Nicoj dar neteko sutikti boulangerie, dirbancios iki 22h - speju, pagal prancuzu filosofija, kad iskeptum gera croissant reikia ir gerai pailset:) po 20h isalkusiuju verslas cia perduodamas ne tokioms gurmaniskoms naktinems kebabinems ir sumustininems.

Liolik said...

Aha, as pilnai tikiu :) Karta teko apsilankyti i pavakare pas turkus, suvalgyt vistienos gabaliuka su darzovem. Kazkaip nelikau patenkinta, juk ne LT buvau, kad toki maista prasta valgyt...